Chapter two

Addy Cooper sat at her cheap gray metal desk, a spreadsheet open on her computer. She tried to make sense of the numbers, twisting a clump of her unruly hair, then blinked rapidly to clear her fuzzy vision. She had worked and reworked the columns all morning and still couldn’t quite balance the accounts. Something was missing. Peeping through the blinds at her window, she glimpsed the sun setting over the buildings along San Francisco Bay.

“More coffee?”

She swiveled to see the receptionist hovering in the doorway, holding an almost-empty pot of coffee.

“No thanks.” Addy groaned. “I’ll be up all night as it is.”

“It’s after five. I’m leaving. Aren’t you going home?”

Addy sighed. “I wish. But I can’t leave until the books are done. Have a good weekend.”

She returned to her spreadsheet, but a few seconds later she noticed the little clock on her screen. Maureen would be pissed, especially since this was Friday. The demands of Addy’s job annoyed her partner, and they fought endlessly over it. About to reach for the phone and dreading the call she’d have to make, she heard a loud scuffle in the lobby. She and a few other employees headed there.

A group of men in suits fanned out through the office, jerking file cabinets open and entering employee offices. Addy’s boss was bent over the reception desk as one man handcuffed him and read his Miranda rights.

“What’s going on?” The scene bewildered Addy.

“FBI.” An agent flashed his ID. “No one is to leave the building while we search the premises.” He motioned two agents to the back wall, where several black metal filing cabinets stood. The agents began to dump the files into boxes marked “Evidence.”

“Do you have a warrant?” Addy asked the question automatically, reacting to the events unfolding before her and having viewed too many episodes of Law and Order. She had little idea of the legal issues involved.

The agent who had identified himself stared at her. He hitched up his pants, but gravity, and the circumference of his belly, kept them up only temporarily. “Who wants to know?”

“I’m Addy Cooper.” Her voice cracked, betraying her exterior calm. “I work here, and that’s our boss you’re handcuffing. What’s he being accused of?”

He reached into his inside jacket pocket and removed a packet of papers. Unfolding them and holding them up, he moved closer, invading her personal space. She didn’t want to appear intimidated, so she stood her ground but leaned back slightly.

“Here’s your warrant, Ms. Cooper. We’re confiscating Wor Import Export property on suspicion of illegal activity involving the black market. We suspect your boss is importing Russian brides and exporting bootleg copies of prereleased movies. What exactly is your role here?”

“I’m an accountant.” Addy began to tremble as she realized the seriousness of the crime. She had met many Russian-speaking women through her boss, who explained that they were friends or relatives visiting from abroad. She rarely encountered them again and thought nothing of it. As for videos or DVDs, hundreds of boxes left the warehouse daily, but she assumed they contained machine parts.

“We’ll need to question you too, Ms. Cooper. The rest of you return to your offices. You will be interviewed and released as soon as possible.”

The other employees of Wor Import Export shuffled away, a few warily staring over a shoulder at Addy. The agent who appeared to be in charge of the raid led her into the first office off the lobby.

Once more Addy chanced a peek at the clock on the wall and sighed. Yup, Maureen was going to be really pissed. Her shoulders sagged and she suddenly felt a hundred years old. Would life ever get any better than this?

If Liberty McDonald loved one thing, it was seeing justice done. She hung back in the crowd of onlookers as the Chicago PD and fellow FBI agents hauled the bad guys away. The longer Special Agent Jerry Cruikshank talked to the media, the more her temper rose. Jerry would claim all the credit for the arrest, even though her undercover activity had nailed the bastards. Besides, she looked better in front of the camera than he did. What a slob.

It might help if he invested in a decent suit. The camera loved her strong features and devilish grin. And the ladies regarded her pretty highly as well.

Liberty couldn’t suppress a broad grin as the suspect was led out of the building. Of all the assholes being arrested today, he was the one she was most proud of nailing. The greedy kingpin was responsible for dumping toxic waste directly into Lake Michigan—had told his drivers to back the trucks up there at night to get rid of his company’s chemical waste. God knew how much damage he had caused by the time she was assigned the job of discovering the source of the pollution.

As he walked by, she reflexively shrank back, not wanting him to recognize her and possibly put the pieces together regarding her involvement. But she really wanted to grab the bastard and beat the shit out of him. The poor flora and fauna. It would take years of work to restore the area. Scum like that ought to be take-out back and shot. Screw the trial.

Her cell phone rang and she moved far enough away not to be heard.

“Liberty.”

“When this is over, we need you in Maryland. Spend what time you need there closing out that case, then fl y out to Baltimore. Pick up a rental car there, and it’s about two hours to Deale.”

“What’s up?”

“You’ll get the details later, but there’s unusual activity along that area of the Chesapeake. Radioactive elements in the water supply. They’re not at high levels yet, but they’re recent, within the past couple of months, and seem to be increasing. Some local reporter says he has information relevant to the case—possibly a terrorist threat. Hook up with him when you get there. Again, that will all be in the file.”

“Okay. Anything else?”

“We don’t know what we’re dealing with, so be careful.”

“Always.”

Liberty flipped the phone shut and shook her head. Guys like her handler always warned, “Be careful.” Easy for them to say, being tucked away in some cushy darkened room on the phone all day. They never stuck their necks out, never had to worry about looking over their shoulder all the time. But she’d be bored out of her skull with a job like that. She needed the outdoors more than she needed sex, and that was saying a lot—not that she ever had to worry about getting any.

She sauntered down the street toward her car parked several blocks away. Passing a shop window, she paused to check out her reflection. Her jeans were perfect—tight and just the right shade of faded blue. They accentuated her muscular thighs and narrow waist, and she tucked her shirt in where it had come out. Satisfied that everything was strategically placed the way she liked it, she finger-combed her hair and resumed walking.

Back in California Addy and the other employees weren’t released from their temporary confinement until almost ten o’clock. Her boss had been taken away long ago. What would become of him, and what would become of her job? She told the others she would try to find out more from the FBI in the morning and call them.

Heading out of Alameda in her blue Volvo, she considered calling Maureen as she crossed the bridge into Oakland, but knew it wouldn’t matter. Maureen could care less what the explanation would be this time. She would haughtily toss her thick red curls and point a polished fingernail at her, saying Addy loved her job more than she loved her. Lately, Addy had begun to believe her.

The lights inside were on and she knew Maureen was waiting. After she parked, a knot formed in her gut and with each step her body tensed. Four pieces of luggage and several boxes greeted her in the entryway.

“Maureen?”

She dropped her briefcase on the floor and entered the living room, where Maureen sat on the couch, arms folded across her chest.

“I can explain,” Addy weakly began.

Maureen held up her hand, signaling her unwillingness to listen.

“I’ve had enough,” she said. “BJ will be here any minute. If I missed anything or if I get any mail, I’ve left you an address to forward them.”

“Who’s BJ?” The abruptness of Maureen’s declaration stunned Addy.

Before Maureen could answer, the doorbell rang and she ran to answer it.

“Hey, babe.” A short, muscular woman wearing the brown shirt and shorts of a UPS driver wrapped a meaty arm around Maureen’s waist. Maureen quickly squirmed her way out of the woman’s grasp, brushing a loose red curl back into place.

“BJ, this is Addy.” Maureen gestured.

“You’re leaving me for her?” How could Maureen toss her aside so casually—and for a UPS driver, no less? Maureen had clearly been more than just a parcel recipient to the butch woman.

This second shock of the day staggered Addy.

“BJ has regular hours and gets paid big bucks for any overtime she works,” Maureen said. “I’m tired of sitting around waiting for you every night while you waste your life in that dreary, dead-end job. I want more out of life.”

“So you’ve opted for the excitement that only a UPS driver can give you.”

“Don’t be snide, Addy. I’ve taken all the crap I can from you these last four years. I hope you enjoy your miserable life. Come on, BJ, let’s go.”

Maureen picked up the luggage while BJ easily hefted the large boxes and dropped them onto a waiting dolly outside the door.

Addy stood in the entryway long after the front door had slammed, the silence unnerving. Although the house was small, it suddenly felt cavernous. She stared at the walls, hoping they’d provide an answer to her dilemma. But she was exhausted, too drained to worry about the future.

She dragged herself up the stairs and into their bedroom, the bed and dressers in disarray from Maureen’s hasty departure.

The mess left Addy’s orderly brain unsettled. She smoothed the bedspread out, picked up a few articles of clothing from the floor and put them away, then walked to the closet.

Every aching bone in her body cried out for sleep. She undressed, hanging her skirt and jacket neatly on their hangers, placed her pumps on the shoe rack, toes pointing inward, and climbed into bed. The cool sheets calmed her and she instantly relaxed.

Where was Maureen moving? Maureen was on her health insurance plan at work. Monday, she would ask personnel to remove her name from both the health and life insurance policies.

Maureen would probably get better coverage with UPS anyway.